Sunday, August 2, 2009

Beantown Cubans is here

This book follows the adventures of two good Cuban friends in Boston (yes, it could happen.)The novel is a sequel of sorts to Boston Boys Club but with a new narrrator named Carlos Martin, a Cuban teacher from Miami who moves to Boston to start over after a loss in the family. It's his first year in Cambridge and he's learning to adapt. Luckily, he has some help from new amigo Tommy Perez (from Boston Boys Club), another Miami native who has successfully made Boston his home after moving there to be a reporter at The Boston Daily newspaper.

Like Carlos, Tommy yearned for something more than Miami's endless summers, liquor-fueled nights at South Beach bars and South Florida's daily supply of gruesome news stories.Tommy takes Carlos under his wing and shows him where to find good Cuban food (El Oriental de Cuba restaurant in Boston's Jamaica Plain) and how to break into the city's clannish and lily-white gay scene (Club Cafe, Paradise) as he discovers lust, love and a newfound independence over the course of one unforgettable year. But Carlos helps Tommy too as an ex-boyfriend reemerges in his life and the complications that brings.

I'll be posting a video soon in which I talk about my writing process and what inspired this book. (It was a visit by my parents to Boston two summers ago and the conversations I had with them individually which made me realize that my time with them is limited.) The book also pays tribute to the power of friendship and how one good friend can make the world of difference when you're a newcomer to a city like Boston. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it (even though I cried during a few chapters.)

Johnny Diaz, Cuban-American author and journalist

Who's Johnny?

Sun Sentinel features reporter. Former Boston Globe reporter. Author of Boston Boys Club, Beantown Cubans, Miami Manhunt, Take the Lead (Spanish version is Tomar La Iniciativa) and Looking for Providence. Book #6 is Six Neckties released in 2017. THIS IS NOT A SUN SENTINEL OR BOSTON GLOBE BLOG but I do post my stories here and essays about my life and things that interest me. My email: johnnydiaz225@gmail.com

Six Neckties (click on the image)

Now that gays are getting hitched, it seems that everyone is saying I Do. Except for Tommy Perez. He's always the best man or groomsman for his friends' nuptials. And with each occasion, Tommy goes home alone with another necktie. He's already on number four. But things seem to improve for the Maine magazine writer when he suddenly meets Danny...

Looking for Providence (my 5th novel, click on the image)

Ronnie thought he had everything he wanted, a guy he adored and job he loved. Then the economy tanked and he lost both. Newly single his adopted home of Providence, he learns to start over as a Business reporter. And his life makes a dramatic turn when he meets a handsome local executive who shows him his native Providence and maybe just the way to his heart....

Beantown Cubans (My third novel)

A witty, warmhearted novel of friendship, familia, and finding a place to call home--even in Boston where it's almost impossible to get an authentic Cuban sandwich (click on the image to order)

Take the Lead (my fourth novel)

click on the image for more details

Boston Boys Club (my debut)

Click on the book cover for more details.

Miami Manhunt (my second novel)

click on image for more information

CBS Boston interview where I talk about Parkinson's, dating, Miami and Boston